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New Orleans, 27 and 28 September 1848. 8 pp. (8.5” x 11”), ink on blue paper, plus one duplicate letter (3 pp.). CONDITION: Very good, light toning and creasing to letters, chips to address leaves of two letters; losses to two letters from broken wax seals, partial loss to only one word; 3.5” x 2” loss to page four of one letter, but no losses to the text.

A compelling group of letters, all retained copies, written in response to the upcoming election of 1848 by a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Gen. Lewis Cass. Marshall argues for the removal of the Quartermaster General of New Orleans, Major Daniel D. Tompkins (1798–1863), whose scheming on behalf of Whig candidate Zachary Taylor made him a political enemy.

The first letter, two copies of which are present here, is addressed to Secretary of the Treasury, Robert J. Walker on 28 September, just over a month before the November 1848 Presidential election. Marshall writes regarding the Quartermaster General’s political machinations and incorporates the text of a letter originally sent to him by John R. Macmurdo on 27 September 1848, presenting it as evidence for his claim against Tompkins’s “virulent feelings.” His writes in part:

[28 Sept. 1848] Our friends are highly incensed at the open & aroused hostility to the present administration which he [i.e., Daniel D. Tompkins] manifests in every appointment. It is his determination, if possible, to prevent the success of our ticket at the forthcoming [1848] election, and to do this, he has placed the lucrative offices in his gift in the hands of such men as Anderson Miller of Miss[issippi] for the alternate purpose of enabling the Taylor men to contest the floating vote. Already have the recipients of his bounty subscribed large sums to the Rough & Ready Clubs, & through these clubs & the Whig officers of the city, who will employ about one thousand laborers prior to the November elections, an immense influence is to be exerted against us. It is in the power now of the government to defeat the plot by immediate measures & our party here unanimously desire it.

The copied letter from Macmundo letter reads in part:

[27 Sept., copied 28 Sept.] At the present juncture in our political affairs, when treason rears her brazen front, placing in jeopardy the succession to our present administration, I deem it the duty of every true Democrat to endeavor, to the utmost of his ability, to uncover and expose any and all, who may by word or deed, try to promote discord in our party. In this connection, I am perfectly willing to say to you that in my opinion, the present head of the Quartermaster’s Department in this city [i.e., Daniel D. Tompkins], has the opportunity, and I am constrained to believe the inclination also, to do much to defeat the success of the [?] Democratic nominee in the state… With not a little vehemence, he has stated that Mr. Walker & other friends of Gen. Cass had cheated Mr. Van Buren out of the nomination in 1844—that a day of retribution was at hand, & that the North would make his numerical superiority felt… I have no hesitation in declaring my conviction that he would be pleased to see Genl. Cass defeated at the coming election.

Marshall’s second letter is addressed to Congressman Robert McClelland (1807–1880) of Michigan, who served in the House of Representatives from 1843 to 1849, and also served as Chief Lieutenant to Gen. Lewis Cass, Governor of Michigan (1851–53), and Secretary of the Interior in 1853. Marshall makes a panicked appeal to the Democratic Congressman in Washington, D.C. regarding Tompkins’s Whig sympathies, and urges McClelland to have Tompkins removed. He opens the letter noting that he has been in communication with Gen. Cass and that the “enclosed letters” he sends “have been sent to Hon. R. J. Walker, in order that they may be laid before the Secretary of War & President.” This second letter reads in part:

[28 Sept.] I shall forward further statements to Washington, showing that the firm of Steele & Co. noted Whigs & concerned in the late publication of the Natural a Taylor paper presented $1000 to the Rough & Ready central committee, & that they are in the receipt of $300 per month from the Qr Masters Department; that certain Democrats who had proposed holding meetings in their wards were intimidated & finally gave up the idea from fear of losing their employment in the Qr Masters Department… We have to assure you that if another appointment is made & the officer is friendly to the election of Genl. Cass, though he enters his office only five days before the election we will be able to control at least one hundred votes, & heaven only knows the importance of that vote in the result… The Whigs will employ between now & the election probably as many as a thousand laborers, in order to get votes, and much of this money comes out of the pocket of the government through the Quarter Master old Anderson Miller of Miss[issippi], who boasts of having lost his voice in cursing old Andrew Jackson, is one of the especial favorites in receiving the Quarter Master’s patronage. Yours in the cause, John Marshall.

Marshall was so agitated that he wrote a similar letter to McClelland only a day later, which is also included here.

An engaging group of letters relating to the 1848 presidential election scene in New Orleans.

Item #7558

Price: $950.00